Helsingin Sanomat

Each year the May Day celebrations in Kaivopuisto park seem to get bigger and bigger, putting a big strain on park workers. The revellers bring with them a huge amount of items, including picnic equipment, tents, canopies and even old furniture, much of which is left behind in the park afterwards.

Since 2005 the daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has sponsored a campaign in which bottle collectors are rewarded with cinema tickets. One cinema ticket is rewarded for every 20 champagne bottles. In this way, tens of thousands of bottles are collected in just a few hours. As a result, Kaivopuisto has been tidier than ever before in the aftermath of “Vappu”, even though the number of revellers has grown.